


How To Score Dinner With The Devil

by RinLeonhart



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Andy is a badass, Can't break up the babes, F/F, Facing Your Fears, Minor Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Nile is always learning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:54:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25766299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RinLeonhart/pseuds/RinLeonhart
Summary: Andy detects something that Nile needs to learn. New training and hilarity ensues.
Relationships: Andy | Andromache of Scythia/Nile Freeman
Comments: 14
Kudos: 150





	How To Score Dinner With The Devil

**Author's Note:**

> Just a short ficlet that I apparently had to get out of my system. It’s just meant for fun and not to be taken seriously. I had originally planned on doing a series of loosely tied together one-shots, but I’m not sure if I’ll have time to make that happen or not. We shall see.

Niles muscles screamed in protest as something large and solid slammed into her side. A sharp lance of pain seared through her. One of her ribs was likely broken. She took a quick, deep breath and was pleased to find that she could. Good. The rib didn’t puncture her lung and would heal soon enough. Switching gears, she planted her feet and lifted upwards, successfully throwing the large mass away from her.

Joe yelped in surprise as he hit the dirt. He lay there for a minute and Nile briefly worried that she’d hurt the man. She started towards him when he started laughing, his mouth stretching into a wide grin that dissolved her fears instantly. Right. Immortals.

“You know, it would have been much easier to use my momentum and flip me the _other_ way.”

Nile scoffed at him and leaned down to offer him a hand up. “Of course I know that. I like to be unpredictable.” Still smiling, Joe allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. He dusted himself off and patted her on the shoulder.

“You’re coming along nicely. Come on, Nicky will have lunch ready soon,” he said.

Nile rolled her shoulders and stretched as she watched him saunter off towards the safe house. She missed feeling her muscles and joints pop after a good work out, but it was a small price to pay for being able to heal broken bones in a matter of seconds. Not having to be laid up with sore muscles was a definite perk though. She couldn’t imagine living with the drill routines Joe and Nicky had been running her through without being able to heal. It’s not like exercise and drills were something she was unaccustomed to, being a Marine, but those two took it to an unreal level… likely because they were used to being able to abuse their bodies repeatedly without repercussions.

It felt like a lifetime since the Merrick debacle, but realistically only a few months had passed. She regarded the safe house thoughtfully. In such a short span of time, Nile had lost one family, gained another and had her entire life disassembled and reassembled by an unseen force. She still felt pangs when she thought about her mother and brother, but the thought that they would have the opportunity to mourn her and get closure really did help. Despite everything Booker did, Nile would respect the man that gave her advice while wearing his heart on his sleeve and tears in his eyes. It wasn’t exactly easy for him to talk about and being able to see his sorrow helped Nile realize that getting her family the closure they would need was more important. She could handle herself. She just wanted them to be able to move on. Nile could understand why Booker… broke. Maybe not to the level of having been there herself, but she’d been given a taste by having to make a decision about her family. She could only hope the others would eventually understand too. Maybe it had been too long for the rest of the group. Booker was the youngest, without her in the picture. It was true that Joe had Nicky and vice versa. They could lean on each other. She briefly wondered why Booker hadn’t leaned on Andy. Perhaps Andy didn’t want to be leaned on. Maybe he did and it wasn’t enough.

Nile had her whole life planned out; she had plans, expectations. She had always known what she wanted her life to be like since she was young. This… definitely didn’t fit the picture she’d had, but Nile couldn’t bring herself to complain. She was lucky enough to feel the spark of adventure every day. Getting to travel and see the world was another added bonus and to be honest, that was one of the small reasons she had joined the Marines in the first place. Mostly it’d been her dad, but she’d wanted to be a part of something that mattered. To be free. Listening to the sounds of the nearby birds, Nile couldn’t help but feel like she belonged. Joe and Nicky had helped with that. They took things slow for her at first, considering her foray into this new life had begun with an emergent upheaval of a mess with their identities and captures. They all took turns cooking and cleaning and before long, Nile had clicked into place with them like she was born there.

She glanced up at the clear blue sky above her and wondered what today would bring. Every couple of months, the gang switched safe houses for security reasons. No jobs were currently being taken, likely due to Andy healing, but Nile got the feeling that maybe everyone just needed a break. She was a little relieved to find out that their lives weren’t a constant jump from one mess to another. There were days where she could bathe in the serenity of the sun if she wanted.

“Talking to the Big Guy again?” Andy asked, seemingly materializing by her side. Nile bit her tongue hard enough to taste copper and resisted the urge to leap out of her skin. At least now she could climb back into it if she did.

“Dammit, Andy,” she grumbled and eyed the woman beside her. “I’m going to put a bell on you. You’re worse than that cat that keeps hanging around.” She could swear the older woman kept sneaking up on her because Andy enjoyed the smell of her fear. Not that she was afraid of Andy, per say, but nobody had a right to move that quietly.

“And here I thought you were warming up to the cat.” Andy shot her a grin.

Nile rolled her eyes. “The cat, sure. You, on the other hand…” She elbowed Andy playfully and quirked a smile at her to let her know she was teasing. Andy had finally seemed to relax a little since that last fiasco, or perhaps Nile had just gotten to know her better. When she had joined their little rag tag group, Nile wasn’t even sure if Andy liked her. She thought maybe the Scythian just wanted to use her because she happened to have the same skill set the others did. Now, Nile knew better. Andy was the type to remain civil, but not go out of her way for others unless she saw something in them that she deemed worthy. Nile didn’t think Andy would even bother talking to her unless she liked her. Or maybe it could have something to do with the multiple counts of saving her now-mortal hide.

Andy tried to look affronted by the teasing, failed, and stared up at the sky instead.

“You really don’t get along well with animals, do you?” she questioned, still searching for answers in the sky.

“Well…” Nile scuffed her boot against the ground. “It’s not like I really have anything against them or anything. No experience, you know? I didn’t exactly grow up on Old McDonald’s farm. Cats are fickle. I’m sure they have reasons of their own, but… I’m tired of getting scratched. Dogs can be nice, but more often than not, I ended up running from them and trying not to get my ass chomped. I knew a kid when I was little that had a lizard. He didn’t really do anything though.” She glanced at Andy and smiled weakly when she realized the older woman was staring at her impassively. Nile cocked her head to the side and wondered what Andy was thinking. Despite getting to know her a lot better, she still often struggled to read Andy. The Scythian could still be intimidating, for sure, but mostly she was just… quiet. She kept to herself more often than not. She was their leader, immortal or not, but it was like she preferred to hang around the outskirts of the group rather than be in the middle of it. Missions were a completely other tale, but Nile suspected that had to do more with protecting the people she cared about. It was… rather comforting, Nile had to admit. She was lucky enough to always have friends growing up. Then when she enlisted, she had her team with her. If all else failed, she could always count on her mom or brother to have her back. Now she had Andy, Joe, Nicky and even Booker (from afar). She needed socialization. Nile had people and she needed her people, but Andy… Nile got the feeling that Andy could walk away for a century and be okay with it. She had heard that Andy was alone for a long time before she found another immortal like her. How long was she really alone? Nile wasn’t sure she could’ve survived something like that.

They studied each other for a few moments while Nile struggled to find something to say. She gave up and decided to wait for Andy to speak. Here Nile was, trying to open up to the other woman yet again and Andy just responded by calmly staring back at her. Not really rejecting, just… being. Nile huffed and the corner of Andy’s mouth quirked upwards at her impatience.

“We’re going to need to fix that,” Andy said simply and walked off towards the safe house.

Nile’s brow furrowed. “Fix what?”

Andy didn’t stop walking or turn around, but she did crook her fingers at Nile, telling her to follow. Nile watched her for a beat. It really wasn’t fair how Andy could make simple jeans and a tank top look so good. Maybe it was the boots. Definitely the boots. She shook her head to free her thoughts and tamped down on that dangerous attraction. Now was neither the time nor the place and Nile didn’t need the distractions.

“I’m not a dog, you know!” she yelled at Andy’s back and rolled her eyes.

* * *

Turns out Andy just knew lunch was ready. They ate mostly in silence until Andy announced she had some errands to run and would be back in a couple of hours. Nobody really batted an eye at that, mostly used to Andy coming and going as she pleased. Nile had to admit that she was doing a better job taking care of her body than she used to. There was that one time Andy came back to the safe house after having ripped her stitches again and Nile threatened to kidnap her and make her go to the town’s doctor. Andy looked amused, but hadn’t come back in a battered condition since then.

Nile helped Joe wash the dishes since Nicky cooked and they did a little more light sparring after that. It evolved into more of a game of Tag than actual fighting, but Nile had to admit that the three of them had fun with it. Without any doom or gloom on the horizon, it was a lot easier to goof off.

By the time Andy got back, the three of them had retired back into the house. Nile and Joe were watching TV while Nicky read a book. Only Nile jumped when she walked through the door.

“I need to borrow Nile for some training,” she declared and looked at Nile expectantly. Nile just blinked at her.

“I… uh, now?”

“Yes.”

“Is it an emergency or something?”

“No.”

Nile looked bewildered at Joe. He shrugged and motioned for her to get up.

“Just don’t break her, boss.” Nicky said with a grin and then winked at Nile.

Nile’s mouth dropped open in protest, but she was cut off before she even got started.

“She’ll live.”

“ _Excuse me_ , why isn’t anyone worried that I’ll hurt _her_?” Nile squawked in indignation.

They laughed in unison.

“Okay, okay, I see how it is. Come on, crazy lady.” Nile brushed past Andy and out the door. She could hear the boys laugh harder, and while Andy just followed her out the door, Nile could _feel_ her smiling.

“There’s a place I want you to see that’s a few miles from here. That’s where we’ll train. I’m driving.”

“Of course you are,” Nile muttered and climbed into the car.

She managed to make it one whole mile before Nile couldn’t stand dealing with her curiosity anymore. She had to ask.

“So what kind of training is this? Where are we going?”

Andy didn’t reply. She didn’t even take her eyes off the road.

Nile sighed. “You do realize you don’t have to work at being all mysterious, right? It’s not like we’re in some movie or something.” Andy still didn’t take her eyes off the road, but turned her head slightly in acknowledgement.

“I wasn’t really trying to be all mysterious and alluring. It’s just a surprise,” she stated simply.

“Alluring? I never said that,” protested Nile, both of her eyebrows creeping up toward her hair.

For a second – just a brief second – Andy’s eyes left the road and locked with Nile’s. Her mouth twitched and her gaze sparkled with mischief. Nile felt like she’d been punched in the gut. Andy _knew_. How could she know? Nile thought she’d been doing such a good job of keeping her feelings to herself. Sure, she had caught herself staring a couple of times when Andy would lift something or perform a perfect roundhouse kick on the fighting dummy, but it wasn’t like she stared _that_ obviously. She always made sure not to let her touches linger or express any outward interest… or so she thought. Nile’s life had been totally ripped apart in the past year. She didn’t need any complications. She had enough on her plate without falling for some ancient, incredibly stubborn and possible _insane_ woman.

Andy’s eyes flicked back to the road and the spell was broken. Nile felt her cheeks warm and turned her head to look out the window, sending a quick prayer to God that her dark complexion was hiding her blush. She pursed her lips and regarded the trees flying past them. Nile’s new life was already like traversing through quicksand. She could just ignore her body’s reactions to Andy until she felt like she was on more solid footing. Andy didn’t exactly call her out on it and Nile didn’t want to talk about it, so they could just avoid it. Hopefully forever. No distractions.

“We’re here,” Andy murmured unnecessarily as she pulled off the road and parked near a rather large, worn looking barn.

Nile looked around curiously. There wasn’t anything of note here. Grassy fields stretched as far as she could see with some livestock munching it’s bounty for lunch. There was a small cottage up on a hill not very far away. It was quaint, but nothing special about it. The barn was pretty decent in size, at least in Nile’s opinion, not that she really knew much about them. The wood looked like it had weathered quite a few years and the paint was peeling on one side.

“There’s… literally nothing here. Why…” Nile started.

“That’s not how you use ‘literally’,” Andy muttered as she got out of the car. Nile rolled her eyes and followed suit.

“Why are we here, Andy?”

“I made a deal with the man who lives here,” she said vaguely and pointed out toward the field. “That’s where we’re heading.”

“Are we supposed to do special grass fighting techniques?” Nile huffed and crossed her arms. She swore getting straight answers from Andy was harder than pulling teeth out. If an enigma were a human being, her name would be Andromache. “Well, if you’ve brought me out here to kill me, thinking that nobody can hear me scream, have I got some news for you...”

Andy chuckled and started trekking across the field, expecting Nile to follow. Nile was always expected to follow. And she did.

Nile raised her hand to shield her eyes from the sun beating down from above. It wasn’t exactly desert of Sudan level of heat, but it was enough that she could feel tiny beads of sweat beginning to form on her nape. The only sound Nile could hear was the soft whistle of the breeze passing through the grass. She could make out a black horse off in the distance, lazily grazing. There was a tree line at the end of the field that was pretty far off. Was Andy really planning on hiking all the way across this damn field?

“See him? That’s Dante.” Andy gestured towards the horse who was trying desperately to look like he wasn’t paying attention to them. He continued eating, but his ears kept flicking towards them. The taller woman whistled and the horse raised his head to regard them. Eventually he started walking towards them cautiously.

“And are you good friends with Dante or is he going to eat us?” Nile muttered, dubiously eyeing the horse. She was reminded of being chased by the dogs in her neighborhood as kid… except Dante was much, much bigger. She didn’t know how fast horses could run, but she knew it was faster than she could.

“We’re rather new acquaintances, but he’s here to help us with your training. Today, you learn to ride a horse.”

Nile turned to the woman standing next to her with a horrified expression. “You’re joking. There’s no way. I can’t… I can’t _ride a horse,_ Andy _._ What era do you think you’re in? Have you hit your head and think we’re back in the Middle Ages? I’m not riding Jon Bon Pony over there,” Nile hissed at her. Andy just looked amused.

“Even in this day and age, especially in our line of work, you never know what skills you’ll need to escape a situation. What if we get into a tight spot and we have to ride horses to get out of there? We can’t wait for you to learn then. Better to do it now while we have time. Riding any creature is essentially the same and horses are easier to learn on than most. You’ll be fine.”

Dante had finally reached them and whoa, he was tall. The horse’s back reached Nile’s eye level, so his head towered over her. Nile had no doubt that this animal could kill her. Granted, she knew she would come back, but at what cost? She didn’t particularly feel inclined to be stomped to death today, no thank you.

Andy reached her hand out towards the horse’s face paused to let him sniff her hand. Apparently he approved and proceeded to try to rub his forehead on her. She laughed and granted his request.

“It’s common to offer a greeting when you meet someone, Nile. Maybe start there.”

Nile stared at the older woman. “Andy… it’s a _horse_ … a _horse_ the size of a freaking car. He could probably eat my arm if he wanted to. I don’t know if we grow limbs back and I’m not finding out. This is insane.”

Dante snorted at her and stomped his foot into the ground. Nile jumped.

“Nope. Not doing it. Not today, Satan!”

Nile _knew_ Andy had a point. Learning how to ride a horse was something she likely would need to do someday, given that she didn’t even know what kind of jobs they normally took. While she suspected that Andy enjoyed teasing her for fun, she didn’t think the other woman would purposefully put her in harm’s way just for kicks. But doing this was incredibly different than reacting to a gun and jumping out of a twenty story building. When she was in those situations, it was because she had to be. She went back to save the others because there was nobody else. She wasn’t a hero; she just did what had to be done. And riding a horse today? Definitely didn’t have to be done.

She turned on heel to leave and froze when she felt warmth at her back. This was it. She was going to die again. Her muscles would rip, her bones would crack and she would be left to wonder if this was the time she wouldn’t come back. After a couple seconds passed, Nile realized she had closed her eyes and braced for an impact that never came. She cautiously cracked an eye open and turned her head to see behind her. Andy’s blue gaze stared down at her, her eyes unreadable.

“Is this okay?” Andy asked and Nile found she had no idea what to say. Andy had apparently come up behind her, slotted her front to Nile’s back and had her hands lightly resting on the shorter woman’s hips like she’d been doing it for years.

“I, um… yeah? Sure. Wait, why?” Nile fumbled, not really understanding what was happening or rather, _why_ it was happening and her treacherous brain had decided to turn into a fuzz ball that was made of no substance whatsoever. She desperately tried to hold onto a single thought, but it was like trying to capture a waterfall with her hands. All she could focus on was the fact that Andy was really warm. Really warm and soft and… unsurprisingly strong. It felt like she had a steel blanket against her back that was slowly making her turn around. Why was she turning around? Why was she now facing the horse again?

“I really don’t think he-“

“Shhhh,” Andy breathed into her ear. Nile’s brain short circuited and this was incredibly unfair. She was pretty sure the older woman didn’t know what she was doing to her and really, how was she supposed to remember how to protest with Andy’s lips that close to hear ear?

Andy began pressing harder at her back, forcing Nile forward in small increments. She was like leaning against a rock that at this point was more or less holding Nile up. The shorter woman realized this was getting a little ridiculous at this point. She could just steel herself and touch the horse, but… Nile had to admit that it was a bit selfish of her, but she didn’t want Andy to move away. Her skin tingled where they touched and her nerves were sparking, but despite that Nile felt calmer knowing that Andy quite literally had her back.

They were close enough now that the horse could reach out and sniff Nile’s shirt. The horse seemed completely unperturbed by their actions, but Nile was all too aware of the fact that her shirt was the only thing between the soft skin of her stomach and Dante’s enormous teeth.

“A long time ago, we would ride horses into battle,” Andy murmured, her voice low. Nile could kiss her right now for giving her something else to focus on other than the gigantic animal inspecting her. “Your horse was your partner - an extension of you.” She tried her best to follow along with the ebb and flow of Andy’s voice, not sure if she was centering on what was being said as much as Andy’s tone.

Nile lifted her hand and cautiously brought it up to the horse’s neck. He hadn’t bit her yet. Yet. But she also knew she was being silly. Dante hadn’t expressed any interest in hurting her; she was just on edge because he _could_. Though to be fair, Nile had no idea what went on in horse brains. Did they even think like humans? The horse, apparently satisfied, put his head back down to continue munching on some grass and Nile felt like she could breathe again. Not having his mouth near her internal organs did wonders for her anxiety.

“If your horse fell in battle, or you fell, it would likely mean death. You succeeded or failed as a team,” Andy continued quietly and shook Nile out of her reverie. “You had to have complete trust in one another on and off the battlefield.” She realized her hand had been hovering in the air, but not moving. She tentatively reached out towards the horse’s neck again and paused when her fingertips met soft hair. She lightly ran her fingers down his neck. His hair was incredibly soft, much smoother than she thought it would be, but she could also feel the very solid muscle underneath. The weight of that strength would be truly terrifying in battle.

“I’ve never touched an animal bigger than a dog before,” Nile breathed out. “This is…” she trailed off, continuing to stroke Dante’s neck.

“I knew you could do it.” Andy’s voice made her stomach do a flip. Definitely due to the vibration of the older woman’s voice so close to her ear - definitely not something else. Andy gave Nile a quick squeeze before pulling away.

Nile instantly regretted the cold at her back and tried her best to not let her disappointment show. She glanced to the woman now at her side.

“Thank you, Andy.”

Andy smiled and held her gaze for a moment, her face inscrutable but her eyes were soft. Nile really wished she could tell what she was thinking. Then Andy ducked her head minutely and her expression returned to normal.

“So, ready to ride?” Andy asked, looking up at the horse’s back.

That _really_ tall horse’s back.

“Girl,” Nile shot Andy a look. “I’m here. I touched the damn horse. Give me some time. Baby steps. You don’t even have a saddle. I’m just supposed to _sit_ on the _horse_?”

The Scythian threw back her head and laughed. Nile had to actively try not to stare too hard at the column of Andy’s throat, but she did feel pretty proud of getting Andy to laugh. She didn’t often laugh like that, like her troubles were far past and this moment was all that mattered.

“Come on, I’ll help you up,” Andy said with her eyes still sparkling. Nile sighed, already knowing she was defeated.

“If I die, you’re buying me dinner,” Nile huffed.

“Deal.”

* * *

“So how did it go?” Nicky questioned when the door opened and the two women entered. Nile looked like she’d seen better days, absolutely covered in dirt with grass stains all over her clothes and the foulest expression on her face. Andy appeared to be the same way she was when she left, hair maybe a little more mussed than usual.

“Horses are demons and Andy is Satan.”

“Not bad.”

They both answered at the same time. Nile grunted as she stalked past him in search of the nearest shower. Today was almost a bust, but Nile could say with confidence that if they ever needed to escape on horseback, provided the horse decided to flee with his friends, she could _probably_ stay on long enough to get to away. If there was a car within a ten mile radius, she was going with that option though.

Nicky’s eyebrows were threatening to touch his hairline. “That good?” He glanced at Andy and they both shared an amused look.

“You owe me dinner, Andromache!” Nile had already disappeared down the hallway, but her voice carried rather well - as did the bathroom door slamming. Nicky winced and Andy rolled her eyes.

Joe appeared at the cacophony of noise and leaned against a doorframe.

“So, dinner?” he asked with a smirk and shot a look at Nicky, then looked back at Andy. “You never took me to dinner.”

“You’re just not that pretty, Yusuf,” she replied with a grin. Both men laughed at that.

It was certainly different having Nile added to their group. The dynamic had changed, but Andy had to admit that the added laughter seemed to inject a vigor into all of them that was refreshing. Every day was a new day. She knew that they would eventually start taking jobs again and that everything would shift anew. There would be changes to how they operated, mostly due to death being Andy’s new constant companion. Much to her surprise, she found that her sense of urgency, of needing to save the world from itself, had flared up into a rising bonfire. There was good in the world. What they were doing was actually helping. Nile made her see that. For the first time in a long time, Andy was excited to see what the future held for all of them.

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully this made someone smile today. Thanks for reading!


End file.
